EU charges Meta over addictive design risking 6% fine
European regulators have charged Meta with violating digital safety laws through addictive features, threatening massive fines and forcing potential design overhauls as the bloc moves toward banning children from social media.
The European Commission formally accused Meta on Friday of breaching the Digital Services Act through the addictive design of Facebook and Instagram, exposing the company to fines of up to 6% of its global annual turnover.
The charge sheet targets core platform mechanics like infinite scroll and video autoplay, which regulators claim shift users' brains into "autopilot mode". The commission argues Meta disregarded available evidence that features like reels drive compulsive, late-night use among children, posing severe risks to their physical and mental health.
Investigators also found Meta broke EU law and its own terms of service by failing to stop children under 13 from opening accounts. To comply with the Digital Services Act, the company may be forced to disable autoplay by default, mandate screen breaks, and alter its algorithm to serve users less personalized content.
Meta rejected the preliminary findings. A spokesperson said: “We disagree with these preliminary findings, which don’t accurately take into account the significant steps we’ve taken to protect teens. Since this investigation began, we rolled out ‘Teen Accounts’ that automatically protect teens and put parents in control – allowing them to block access to Instagram at night and cap daily screen time at just 15 minutes.”
These design charges represent just one pillar of a wide-ranging probe launched in May 2024. EU officials are still assessing whether Meta's algorithms unlawfully trap young users in "rabbit holes" of negative content, such as unrealistic body images.
The regulatory pressure extends well beyond this single case. At least 10 member states, including France, Italy and Spain, are drawing up national social media bans for minors. This grassroots legislative wave is pressuring the commission to establish a unified EU-wide solution to avoid a fragmented internal market.
That broader strategy will come into focus on Monday, when a panel convened by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen publishes its recommendations on child safety online. Von der Leyen has already signalled her direction, telling an AI safety conference in May: “We must consider a social media delay.”
The commission’s lead official on tech policy, Henna Virkkunen, framed the Meta charges as a demonstration of the bloc's resolve. “The Digital Services Act provides a clear framework to hold platforms accountable for the addictive design and effects of their services,” Virkkunen said. “We are fully committed to enforcing our legislation in Europe.”
